About a quarter of American Jewish voters view Israel as an apartheid state, according to a newly released survey.
The poll, which was commissioned by the Jewish Electorate Institute and conducted from June 28-July 1, asked respondents if they agreed or disagreed with the statement “Israel is an apartheid state.” Twenty-five percent answered in the affirmative. The 52 percent disagreed were split on whether or not calling Israel an apartheid state is anti-Semitic—28 percent said it was anti-Semitic, while 24 percent disagreed.
Additionally, 34 percent agreed with the statement: “Israel’s treatment of Palestinians is similar to racism in the U.S.,” and 22 percent agreed that “Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians.” Of those that disagreed with these statements, 20 percent and 31 percent viewed them as anti-Semitic, respectively.
Only 9 percent said they agreed that “Israel doesn’t have the right to exist,” and 67 percent of those that disagreed with the statement said that not believing in Israel’s right to exist is anti-Semitic. Sixty-two percent said they had an emotional attachment to Israel.
The survey also asked respondents which groups they are most concerned about as sources of anti-Semitism. Sixty-one percent said they were primarily concerned about anti-Semitism from right-wing groups and individuals, 22 percent said they were most concerned about anti-Semitism from the left and 12 percent said they were concerned about anti-Semitism from both the left and the right.
Eighty percent of respondents approved of U.S. President Joe Biden’s performance in office so far, and 74 percent approved of his handling of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sixty-four percent preferred Biden’s handling of anti-Semitism to that of former President Donald Trump; 63 percent believe Biden is doing a better job of handling the Israeli-Palestinian conflict than Trump did.
This is an edited version of an article first published by the Jewish Journal.
